Passion Tea Lemonade

This is totally a rip off from Starbucks. But I don't care. It's amazing, and so, so much cheaper to make it yourself than to buy it everyday from Starbucks. Like I did for a month. To be fair, I was using them for internet, because I didn't have any myself. The tea was just to make me not feel so bad for sitting there for 2-3 hours a day.

Passion Tea Lemonade

1 Tazo Passion Iced Tea Packet (or 4 regular tea bags)
1/2 cup sugar
Powdered lemonade to make 1 quart*
Ice
Water

Fill a gallon pitcher with ice. Add sugar and lemonade powder to pitcher. Place tea packet on top. Pour boiling water to fill about half the pitcher. Mix until sugar and lemonade are dissolved. Add cold water to fill the pitcher. Serve and enjoy!

My Notes:
My grocery store happened to only sell the Iced tea bags, which are the equivalent of 4 regular bags, so just use what you can find. They're the same tea, just different concentrations for different sized drinks.

This, by the way, is absolutely amazing. You should really go make it now. If you want to add a little extra flair, try it with raspberry flavored syrup, and shake it in a shaker before serving.

*Can use something like Kool-aid, Crystal Light, or something more like Country Time, where you have to measure out the powder.

Flourless Peanut Butter Blondies

Have I mentioned how much I love my mom. She gets me. She knows I love cooking, so for presents, she gets me cooking stuff. Two winters ago, she got me an immersible blender. I'm in love with it (sooo much nicer than a standing blender). Even my roommate loved it. Last year, she got me a Kitchenaid Mixer. She knew I had been eyeing hers for a while.

For my birthday this year, she got me a brownie pan. You know, one of those pans that's like a cupcake tin, except square, so all the brownies have edges?

Yeah. I know.

I think I'm going to request an ice cream maker (attachment) next. That might be kinda deadly for my waistline...

Flourless Peanut Butter Blondies
Modified from Detoxinista

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter, honey, egg, and baking soda until well combined, then fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into a greased 8" pan (unless you have a fancy brownie pan like me. Then put a scoop of batter in each well). Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is a light golden brown. (Watch carefully. Once they start to brown, they get brown real fast!)

My Notes:
The chocolate chips make this dairy, but I know you can get dairy-free chocolate chips, and you can always omit them, so I'm labeling them as pareve. It's my blog, I can do what I want to.

These are better than I was expecting. I made them primarily because my friend has Celiac and I always feel bad that I make things she can't eat. So, I made her something that she could. And she liked them. They're not my favorite (I have a recipe for one with a banana base that I think I'd like a little more), but they're not bad.

Creamy Fettucine with Corn and Arugula

Creamy Fettuccine with Corn and Arugula
Originally found at Real Simple

3/4 box fettuccine
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks (white and light green parts), cut into thin half-moons
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups baby arugula (1 1⁄2 ounces)
1/4 cup parmesean cheese, grated (recommend pecorino)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leeks, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (3-4 minutes). Add the corn and wine. Simmer until corn is tender (2-3 minutes). Stir in the cream. Add pasta; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in the arugula. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

My Notes:
Ok, slight confession on this one. I was not the one who found this recipe. I just helped make it. One of my friends was throwing a dinner party, and I was bored, so I went over early to help out with the cooking.

This is amazing. Incredibly fattening, of course, but lots of veggies that I don't typically cook with. Add on the side the roasted asparagus, and I was in heaven.

Clearly this is a sign that I need to be involved in dinner parties more often. I'm working on it.

Chickpea Curry

Chickpea Curry
Adapted from All Recipes

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 tsp ginger
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup water

Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion; saute until onions are clear. Add ginger, cinnamon, curry powder, and cayenne pepper. Saute until fragrant. Add chickpeas and tomatoes. Mix flour and water into a slurry. Add to pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until sauce is thickened.

My Notes:
I was craving curry tonight, but didn't feel like dealing with the chicken part of it. So, I pulled out some chickpeas. The sauce I normally make for the chicken seemed way too fattening (with a whole can of coconut milk), so I decided to change it a bit.

I used a can of tomatoes instead of tomato paste, and cut out the coconut milk entirely. It took a while for the sauce to reduce down; if you don't feel like waiting that long, but still want a thicker sauce, try mixing some flour and water together.

I ate it with some delicious Naan and it was very satisfying. And my apartment smells like India now :)

Eclair Cake

Eclair Cake
Originally found at Eclair Cake

2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 package graham cracker
1 container chocolate frosting

Mix together pudding mix and milk. Fold in whipped topping.

In a 9x13 baking dish, place a single layer of graham crackers. Spread half the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of crackers, followed by the remaining pudding mixture. Add a final layer of graham crackers.

Warm the frosting until it pours easily, then pour over graham crackers and spread to the edges of the pan. Cover and chill at least 4 hours before serving.

My Notes:
My stepmom made this when I was over at their house over the summer, and I fell in love with the stuff. And this is so ridiculously easy to make that I couldn't pass up on the opportunity.

I brought this to a class pot-luck (hence the low quality photo--I swear, one of these days, I'll get around to taking really nice photos of all this food). It disappeared within 15 or so minutes (I had to fight to get a piece to photograph. Everyone who had it praised it.